- Chief Compliance Officer and VP of Legal Affairs, Arrow Electronics
By 
Jeff Dale2024-04-15T15:38:00
The U.S. Treasury Department, in coordination with the United Kingdom, is clamping down harder on Russia’s ability to wage war against Ukraine by banning the import of Russian-origin aluminum, copper, and nickel.
The world’s two largest metal exchanges, the London Metal Exchange and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, will no longer trade in new aluminum, copper, and nickel produced by Russia, the Treasury announced in a press release Friday. To implement the new policy, the Treasury issued two new determinations that will be enforced by its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
“By taking this action in a targeted and responsible manner, we will reduce Russia’s earnings while protecting our partners and allies from unwanted spillover effects,” said Janet Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury, in the release.
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The U.K. has issued 56 new sanctions against entities and individuals involved with Russia’s war effort, including several private mercenary groups operating in Africa that are connected to the Kremlin.
Sanctions imposed against Russia following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine are being undermined by the U.K.’s poor track record of enforcement, according to a report by campaign group Spotlight on Corruption.
Financial institutions holding Russian sovereign assets that have not reported them to the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control are now required to do so by Aug. 2.
The EU and U.K. have rushed to commit themselves to intensifying action on sanctions evasion after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, but any compliance managers who believe Trump will make global sanctions compliance easier in 2025 are likely to be disappointed.
With a new political regime ready to take over in the U.S., the effectiveness of sanctions against malign foreign actors like Russia, North Korea, and Iran have come into question. While the European Union and U.K. have increased sanctions pressure, critics have publicly asked: Is it enough?
Global sanctions rules are increasing rapidly, as are tools to detect and punish those who break them. In response, the U.K. government is creating a new Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation to investigate and penalize those who break sanctions rules.
